By JULES LAVALLEE
Donna Mills (born December 11, 1940) is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her long-running role as villainous Abby Cunningham on the prime-time soap opera Knots Landing, and for her role as Tobie Williams, the girlfriend of Clint Eastwood’s character in the 1971 cult film Play Misty for Me.
Donna recently worked with Ava DuVernay in her critically-acclaimed movie, Origin.
Her series episode of NCIS on CBS will air in January and she is presently shooting an episode of Ryan Murphy’s new ABC series Doctor Odyssey .
She also starred in Lifetime’s 2023 Christmas movie, Ladies of the ’80s: A Divas Christmas, along with Loni Anderson, Morgan Fairchild, Linda Gray, and Nicollette Sheridan.
In 2023, you starred in Lifetime’s 2023 Christmas movie, Ladies of the ’80s: A Divas Christmas. How much fun did you have reuniting with the women of the 80’s?
Doing the “Ladies of the 80’s – A Divas Christmas” really was a lot of fun, not only because my manager, Larry Thompson, produced it, but because it gave me a chance to catch up with some old buddies ( Oops, not old, longtime ). First, of course, was Nicolette Sheridan and we had worked together for a long time on Knots. Then there was Morgan Fairchild who I did a number of Bob Hope Specials with and was always a friend and fun companion. Then there was Linda Gray, who I had never actually worked
with, but we shot both our series on the same lot on stages right next door to each other, so we saw each other a lot, and she is such a sweet person. The only Lady that I
hadn’t worked with was Loni, but getting to know her on the set – I want to work with her all the time! She is the loveliest person in the world.
There were many, many funny moments on the set, but probably one of the best was when I was supposed to push Nicolette in the pool, and they told us we couldn’t do it
because of some insurance reason, we were supposed to stop right at the edge of the pool. Well, lo and behold, there she was in the water. Don’t know how that happened!
“I’m not happy if I am not moving.” What keeps you moving?
What keeps me moving is something inside of me that just won’t let me sit still. I guess maybe that is why I started out as a dancer. I just had to move, to do, to be. I am always happiest when I am doing something physical. Hiking, biking, gardening, dancing, Acting! Acting is something that takes all of your senses to do and that really makes me happy.
What keeps me moving, I guess, is the desire to improve, to always make it better.
Speaking of moving, the first tennis tournament you played, who did you run into?
One of the first tennis tournaments I ever did was in Monte Carlo, and I played against Princess Grace! And won! Not the smartest thing I have ever done!
I actually learned to play tennis because of that tournament. A tennis pro that I knew told me that if I could play tennis, I could go to this tournament in Monte Carlo. I said,
I’ll learn! And I did, and I have been playing ever since. I still play quite a lot, maybe three to five times a week. I love it.
Share your best advice for staying and looking young.
My best advice for staying and looking young? Well, I have been told I should write a book about it, which I may do, so I can’t give it all to you here, but I will say that attitude
is the most important thing. You have to have the mindset of a young person. Care how you look, be curious about the world, and be willing to work hard. Many older people think that this is the time to relax and take it easy. I don’t! I still have ambitions and goals and things I want to achieve and things I want to give to the world. Work can be a joy and how you set it up in your mind is how your life will go.
You are presently shooting an episode of Ryan Murphy’s new ABC series Doctor Odyssey. What intrigued you about this role?
Yes, I just wrapped my episode of “Dr. Odyssey”, which was so much fun. The role intrigued me because she is so much like me. Not her life circumstances, but her attitude.
I, of course, can’t tell you any more about it, but it’s a really wonderful show to watch. Ryan Murphy is a genius. He creates the most intriguing shows and then produces them with the absolute best of the best. Best set design, best costumes, best directors, best actors, best crews. Needless to say, I had a ball.
Tell us about your wine vineyard.
The vineyard! Well, first of all, go to Mandevillevineyards.com The whole story is there. It has been ten years now since we first planted it and sometimes it is a joy and sometimes a heartbreak. I must say that, at first, I wasn’t on board, I thought it was a really bad idea, but my man, Larry Gilman, forged ahead with it and I am now so glad he did. We have produced some really good wine and have even won some medals at the San Francisco International Wine Competition. One silver and two bronze, which is pretty amazing for a very small winery like ours. We have really found out what it is like to be farmers. One year we pick over 2,000 pounds and make fabulous wine and the next year we pick only 300 pounds because of lack of sun in the spring and can only turn out a meager amount. But it is a constant learning experience and to get up there and actually work in the field is a true joy.
We are approaching the holidays, can you share one of your most memorable family holidays?
Christmas is a very special time for me and my family. We always manage to be together. Every other year here, every other year there. ( Colorado )
